Erebus
by Dbananad
Summary: Luke was an average boy until the night he was murdered. Now he finds himself in the land that exists between our world and the beyond. He forms an alliance with a strange boy and they embark on a thrilling adventure in order to escape Erebus
1. The City in Between

**A/N: Sorry if I somehow misled you to think this is a fanfiction based on another book, cause it isn't. I just didn't have a clue how to upload my own invention on fanfic so sorry again. If you do continue to read, enjoy and please review.**

Hi. My name is Luke. I was an average teenager with blonde hair and dark blue eyes. I was sixteen when I was murdered. I didn't even know I was dead. One moment a strange man was running at me with a knife and the next I woke up here, wherever here is. I could tell it was some kind of town. I had walked around for hours trying to find someone but it appeared deserted. A thick mist clung to everything making it look even more dreary and frightening. What the hell was this?

A sudden movement caught my eye. I whipped around and came face to face with what looked like a big grey rabbit in a business suit. As it came closer I saw that it actually towered over me. It had strange, beady red eyes that wouldn't leave my face. It bent over and pressed it's nose to my hair. I jerked back and tripped over the cobblestones that made up the street. I didn't know whether to ask who or what it was or to run out of there. With striking speed it grabbed my hand and started pulling me down a side alley.

I was so terrified that it took me a while to figure out that the rabbit was floating instead of running. It looked back at me and I almost swore that it was staring at me with impatience. This place really was strange.

We came out into a crowded square. I had practically walked through the whole city and I had never seen this place. It was as though it had just appeared out of nowhere. The rabbit had disappeared from my side. I looked around trying to get someone's attention. All of the people around me were a shade of grey. I looked down at my hands but they were their normal light creamy color. This was seriously starting to freak me out.

I looked around and saw a statue not far from where I was standing. I pushed my way toward it. Some of the people were hard to push through while others were so transparent that I was able to walk straight into them and pass to the other side without even feeling them. I got freaked out when one of the people I ran into turned into mist. I stared in horror for a few minutes but they just reformed after a while. By the time I had reached the fountain, I was out of breath.

The statue itself depicted a body half of which was male and the other, female. The male had an angel's wing and the woman, a bat's. Under them were people. The ones under the man grovelled and cried. The ones under the woman were staring at her in disbelief or wonder. On each corner of the statue was a gargoyle. From their gaping maws ran a red liquid that looked a lot like blood.

I wrapped my arms around one of them and started climbing my way up. Just as I had pulled myself up, the gargoyle I was holding onto started to growl and flap its wings. I had to cling to its hard, stone neck for dear life. It reared on its hind legs and sent me toppling over. I was able to grab onto the woman's wing as I flew. I waited for her to come alive aswell but nothing happened.

From where I was hanging I could see over the heads of all of the shadow people. A few yards away the crowd branched into three lines. The rabbit that had taken me here stood next to the middle line. He seemed to be ushering the shades through a large wooden gate. Next to him on the right stood a black wolf humanoid. It was grabbing the people in its line and throwing them into a gaping hole next to where it stood. Everyone in that line was wailing in agony. I had to turn the other way as another victim was thrown screaming into the abyss. On the left side stood a white tiger humanoid. The people entering the golden rod gate behind it were very few. Out of everyone the gate most used was the middle one.

Suddenly the lines stopped moving. The three guardians had caught side of me. The tiger roared and the wolf charged in my direction. I panicked and let go of the woman's wing. A sudden weightlessness overwhelmed me. It felt like I was flying or diving. Next thing I knew someone was pulling me away from the statue and the angry wolfman chasing after me. The whole square was getting fuzzy and hard to see. Soon it was lost altogether and I was standing where I had been before the grey rabbit came to take me.

Someone tapped my shoulder causing me to jump. I turned around and stared at my savior, or was it my captor? It was a boy of about my height and age. He had russet hair and dark brown eyes. His cloathes were in ragged condition and his hair was matted. That wasn't what had caught my eye though. He had ears. Yes, ears. They were pointy and resembled a fox's. He flashed me a smile and I saw two large canines sticking out.

"Hi. You were in quite a pinch there," he said in a happy voice. All I could do was gape at him and tried to keep my mouth from dropping open.

"You were murdered weren't you," the boy said in a sadder tone. "I can tell because you haven't become grey like the rest of the deceased."

"D-d-deceased?" I stammered. The last time I had checked deceased meant dead.

"Ya. Your in Erebus, the place the dead stay in until they can be sorted into where they get to go in the afterlife," the boy looked at me like I was supposed to know all of this.

"So I'm, like in Limbo?" I asked.

"Sorta. But I'll let you in on a secret," he leaned in close to my ear. "If you were murdered, you have a chance at going back to the human world."

I didn't know what he meant and could only give him a blank look.

"Oh for Christ sake! You don't know anything. Alright, if you find a way to escape from Erebus, you can go back home. Only people who were murdered are able to return because their lives weren't taken by Erasibeth or Selenius," he looked at me expectantly.

"I still don't really get it," I said.

He gave me an exasperated look and was about to say more when I heard a gunshot. The bullet hit me in the back and knocked the air out of my lungs. I fell flat on my face and just lay there. My limbs were growing heavy and it was getting really tough to move. The boy grabbed me by the collar and started to run again. I caught a quick glimpse of our attacker before my eyelids closed. It was a girl around my age with black hair that covered most of her face. The eye I was able to see was a deep purple. She wore a black trench coat that came down to her knees. Maybe it was just my eyes seeing things, but I could have sworn that most of her skin was a dark cloud that swirled around her face. The only flesh I saw was what surrounded the eye.


	2. Meet the Team

When I woke up I was laying on a soft bed of some sort. My chest felt like there was a huge weight on top of it and I was having trouble breathing. I guess the bullet couldn't kill me since I was already dead. I tried to sit up but my head started to spin and I fell down with a thud. I looked over and saw that I had been sleeping on the boy that had saved me. His face was hidden under his wild hair and his ears were limp against his head.

I hurriedly flipped him over and checked for a pulse. Nothing. I pressed my hands against his chest and pushed down with all of my strength. The boy's eyes flew open and he tackled me to the ground. When he saw that it was me, he let go.

"What the hell were you doing?" he asked. I felt like a moron. _Seriously, how can he be dead if we are already in some sort of afterlife?_

"I uhh... Well you see..." I didn't know what to say. Every way of putting it made me sound like an idiot.

"You thought I was dead right," the boy grinned. "It's ok. It takes a while to get used to it. Everyone gets freaked out especially since I wasn't breathing and had no pulse right."

"Ya. Umm, how did you do that?" I asked. It seemed really strange, not breathing.

"Well, it's not like we have to. I mean, who needs air when our bodies are already dead."

I didn't like the way that sounded. Being dead didn't feel that much different than being alive and I wanted to keep it that way. I was afraid that if I started acting dead, I would give up on life.

"Hey, didn't you say that we could come back to life if we escape this place?" I asked nudging the boy in the back.

"Ya. But before you say yes, you should know that there are some consequences," he leaned in close to my ear. "If you try to escape and get caught, there is no judgement for you. Instead, you get sent straight to hell for disobeying the natural order of things. Of course, if you escape, they wipe the slate clean and you restart your life without any blemishes."

"Crap, you get sent to hell! What idiot would take that risk?" I moaned.

"This idiot would," said the boy, pointing to himself. "By the way, my name is Jackal but everyone calls me Jack. What's your name?"

"Luke, hang on did you say- " I couldn't finish my sentence because Jack had grabbed my hand and shook it so hard that I fell flat on my face.

"Oh. Sorry. Here in Erebus, we rebels like to call ourselves animal names so you can be Lynx! Welcome to the club!"

"Hey wait. I haven't agreed to anything yet," I grumbled, shaking all of the dirt off of my clothes. Jack turned and gave me the saddest puppy-dog look I had ever seen. His ears even drooped to add effect.

"That's not going to help me decide. Is the middle plain so bad that I would risk eternal damnation just to escape it?" I asked him. Immediately he dropped the puppy-dog look and frowned.

"Well, I don't know. All I know is that I'm not ready to die and I still have a family I want to see. So I don't care how good or bad the middle plain is, I'm not giving up on life just yet," he stated with conviction.

"Well, they already saw me run away so I guess I don't have much choice in the matter," I grumbled.

"Oh, they take apologies for the first two days. You still have time to return to the square," Jack said matter-of-factly.

"Shut up. I'm trying to convince myself to join you and this is how I'm doing it. So, I Have No Choice In The Matter, got it?" I replied irritably.

"Whatever you say! Come on, you have to meet everyone else," Jack jumped up and grabbed my arm. "Hold tight."

We rushed threw the air. I saw the dust clouds billow behind us. This either hid us or gave away our position and I really hoped it wasn't the latter.

*******

By the time we reached wherever we were, the sun was setting. It was surprising since it seemed like it was morning only a while ago. i stepped forward to ask Jack but it seems he already knew what I was about to say.

"The time here is random and changes as you switch locations in Erebus. The square where you were is always noon, the place we were before is always morning, and the place we are now is always sunset. It is the best time for us since it has enough light so that we can see an enemy and enough darkness to hide us," he said walking down a worn out trail that led to what looked like a garden.

We walked in silence for a while. I was just about to ask how much further we had to go when an iron rod gate loomed before us. Jack started climbing it. Within thirty seconds he was on the other side. He beckoned for me to follow. I grabbed the bars and hoisted myself up. The intricate design on the gate made it hard to get a foot hold and I fell at least four times before finally hauling myself over.

When I finally dropped to the ground I saw that Jack was laughing at me. That did nothing to lighten my mood and I just walked past him. The trail continued until we came up to the front door of a huge mansion. It was huge and made entirely of dazzling marble. The porch was huge and held up by thick black columns. On the roof were written some letters that I could not read. I looked inquisitively at Jack but he shrugged.

We walked up to the door and banged the huge knockers against it. They formed the outline of a setting sun and were made of pure gold. The huge door shifted and opened to reveal a large room. In the middle stood a girl with dazzling blue hair and bright silver eyes. She wore a wispy blue dress that matched her hair and was pointing a sword right at us.

I backed away and bumped into Jack. He gave me a nudge and we both stepped into the room. The girl sheathed her sword and smiled. Her teeth were perfectly white and reflected all of the light in the mansion. It was so bright that I was actually blinded for a moment.

"You know a sword won't help us against the sentinels don't you," Jack said giving the girl a hug. She frowned and pushed him away.

"Oh come on, I was just kidding. You sure are cold for a star," he smiled at her and she relaxed a bit. "By the way, this is Lynx."

"It's Luke actually," I said sheepishly. The 'star' looked at me and raised her hand. I took it and a wave of energy rushed up my arm and into my body. I let go and fell to the floor.

"Hello Lynx, I am Lucia the blue star," she said with a grin. I stumbled to my feet and backed away again. Jack grabbed my arm and dragged me into another room where three other people sat by a fire. There was a small girl with large rabbit ears sticking out of her light brown hair and two men. They looked like identical twins but one of them had blue hair and silver eyes like Lucia and the other had dark red hair and firey eyes. They all turned as we entered the room.

"The little girl there is Bellatrix Hare, we call her Bunny Bells, and these are Lucia's twins. The red haired one is Lucif and the blue haired one is Luminos," Jack said pointing to each of them. The girl waved and grabbed a large plush rabbit and hugged it tightly hiding her face. The two brothers grunted a greating and turned back to whatever they were doing.

"Now that you've met everyone, I'll show you to your room," Jack grabbed my sleeve and ran up a large staircase. We rushed past a giant corridor and stopped at the last room on the right. Jack threw open the door and jumped on the large bed in the middle of the room. I almost screamed when I saw it. It was pink! Floor to ceiling it was pink! A bunch of stuffed animals lined the walls and lace hung everywhere. I just stood in the doorway and gaped at all of the girly decorations.

"T-Th-This is my room," I couldn't even say it without feeling sick. Jack opened one of his closed eyes and screamed.

"Oops. Hehe. Sorry, this is Cynthia's room. She was one of the little girls who was with us. She got captured but I think they sent her to Asphodel, the middle plain, cause she was too young. Follow me and I'll show you yours," we both ran out of that room as fast as we could.

Jack opened the last door on the left and we stepped in. I wasn't sure if I wanted to open my eyes and see it, but in the end curiosity took over. It was a smaller room. The bed was medium sized and blue. The room had light blue walls as well which was better than the pink disaster in the other room. Still, I felt really sorry for that girl.

"So, does Bunny sleep in Cynthia's room now?" I asked, plopping down on the bed.

"Nah. Bunny like black and red. Put her in a pink room and she'll either burn it down or kill herself, maybe even both," we both laughed. Now that I thought about it, Bunny was wearing a black dress when we came in.

"This is the House of the stars. It's where the white dwarf stars wait for all of their energy to burn out so that they can move on," Jack said. He jumped on the bed right beside me.

"Where do stars go?" I asked.

"Dunno, it's not the same as humans. Animals go in a different section too, even though humans are technically animals."

"No they are not!" I said. It sounded like such an insult.

"Ya, they are. Why do you think we are able to grow animal arts here, all of the main categories of life forms merge here. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Animals are some of the best creatures on the planet. It makes me sad thinking about how humans treat them like lesser beings. Animals can talk just as well as humans. Humans just don't understand them," I could tell that Jack was getting riled up so I let it drop.

"I'm gonna go to bed. I don't want to ask for too much, but do you have any extra clothing I could borrow?" I asked. I really didn't want to sleep in my tattered jeans and filthy t-shirt.

"Ya, I'll get them," Jack disappeared for maybe two minutes and was back with a pile of fresh clothes.

"Thanks man."

"No problem. We all take care of each other here," Jack said with a smile and then vanished. I put on the clothes and wash soon fast asleep. Everything seemed so great. This place didn't seem so bad and finding an escape route out of Erebus felt strangely possible. I fell asleep with no fears or doubts. Little did I know that things were about to get complicated and deadly.


	3. The Stars Are Burning Bright Tonight

I hated mornings. Apparently that hadn't changed evn in Erebus. I woke up groggy and still half asleep. I looked out the window. Sunset. I guess it was hard to tell the time with it beinmg the same time of day and all. There was a small door leading into a bathroom. It was small but had all the necessary accommodations. A pile of clothes lay on the seat of the toilet. The was a white t-shirt and another under shirt with long sleeves. It was white with grey stripes. A pair of long blue jeans lay under that and a pair of boxers lay at the bottom. The boxers were hideous. I mean, I wasn't picky about my clothes but these were a bright yellow with green Saturns polka-dotted all over them. They were probably a gift from Lucia. Grumbling I pulled them on. At least the jeans covered all of them. Still, why?

I turned to the sink. A plain blue toothbrush was lying next to a bottle of toothpaste. The brush looked new so I guessed it was set there for me. As I was squirting some toothpaste on it, Jack burst into the room from a door on the opposite side of the one connecting my room. His entrance made me jump and I sprayed toothpaste all over the place.

"Good morning!" Jack shouted. "Don't waste the paste! It's hard to get something as close to actual toothpaste as that ya know!"

"Sorry, you scared me," I mumbled. He grabbed a red toothbrush from his pocket and scooped some toothpaste off the wall before shoving it in his mouth. My expression must have given away my disgust.

"What, it's not like I can get any cavities or diseases. I only do this cause Lucia's gonna kick me out if I don't," he grinned. I had to admit, his teeth were perfect.

"Do you have a brush or a comb?" I asked. I hated combing my hair but I had to control the mess that it had become.

"Sure," Jack handed me a bright pink Barbie brush. It made me nauseous.

"Ha ha, very funny," I growled.

"Fine, have mine," this time he handed me a long, black comb. I started attacking the first mesh of hair on the top of my head. The comb ran against something and I stiffened in pain. When I parted my hair, two white lumps were sticking out of my head.

"Wow! You got your ears fast!" Jack exclaimed.

"Ears?" I asked, confused.

"Ya, you know," he pointed to his for emphasis. I started patting mine. They were soft but hurt if I pressed too hard.

"Uh. This place really is strange," I mumbled to myself.

"Well, I'll be downstairs when your ready princess," Jack laughed and raced out of the bathroom.

A while later, I arrived with the comb stuck in my, still unruly, hair. Everyone was sitting around a huge table. Plates of food covered every available space. There were pancakes, ice cream, waffles, scones, you name it.

"Wow!" I said as I jumped into a seat in the middle of Jack and Bunny. She inched away from me but I was too focused on the food to care. I piled my plate with a bit of everything. Everyone was staring at me with amused expressions. I didn't get what was so funny.

I grabbed a huge waffled covered in chocolate and took a bite. The minute I did, I almost choked. It looked so delicious but I tasted like ash. I coughed it up and continued choking. I grabbed for one of the canisters of juice and drank a mouthful. Ash! Jack gave me some water, which actually was water, and I calmed down.

"What the hell?" I sat there, breathless and startled.

"Only water is real here. The food exists and fills you up, but it doesn't have a flavor," Lucia explained. "Serves you right, with those atrotious manners."

I didn't care if she was a girl, I wanted to punch that smirk off of her face. Jack looked apologetic but I was pissed at him too. I took a few small bites of an ash pancake.

"Screw you," I grumbled when I started coughing lightly again.

It was evening, well it had been a day since I woke up. I was still mad about this morning, earlier evening, I don't know, whatever. I was sick of this time and this place. I had gone walking in the gardens behind the mansion. There was a maze of red roses to my right and a set of dried up fountains to my left. I headed toward the roses. Maybe I could get lost and stay there forever. It's not like I would die of starvation or something like that.

As I got closer, I realized that some roses were transparent or really hard to see. Some were just a red haze. I guess they were like the people in that town. I started winding my way through. I realized that, as I walked, the roses started getting more solid. I followed them until I came to an open circle in the middle of all of the bushes. There, in the middle, was a small circular porch with Ivy growing all over it.

I walked over to it and placed my hand on the chipped wood. It was smoothe dispight of its rough appearance.

"I wonder if this is part of the mansion or some other place," I mused to myself. The wind picked up. I looked at the sky. This was definitely a different place. The sky was covered in clouds. A calming gray light fell upon me from above. The wind was cool but my long sleeves kept me warm.

I stepped onto the porch. The floor looked old and worn, yet it somehow managed not to creek under my weight. There was a small bench on the far side. I headed toward it. As I drew closer, I saw a figure materialize on it. I t was a girl with long black locks and deep purple eyes. She was wearing a small white dress. It appeared to be thin and she was shivering. I reached out to touch her but something kept me still. A boy of about my age walked up to her. She smiled and hugged him.

"I've missed you," the boy whispered in her ear. His raven hair blew in the wind, covering some of his face.

"As have I, brother," the girl said. Her voice was soft like the breeze.

The boy pulled his coat over her. Something looked familiar about that coat. They both sat on the bench. Time seemed to truly stand still around us. A ray of light poured through the clouds and bathed them in golden light. It was almost like looking at a painting.

Finally the boy stood and knelt next to his sister. "Let's run away. We can escape. We were murdered after all."

"Don't say that," the girl said looking around with anxious eyes.

"Come on. We can make it if we're together," the boy laid his hand on the girl's.

"I can't. I'm afraid of losing you."

"You won't. And we're going to hell anyway. Why not try to wipe the slate clean."

"Because it's not certain if we are going to hell, Falco listen please!" the girl begged. She stood up and pulled her brother up with her.

"I'm going Lucs," he let go of her hand and walked away into the maze of roses. The girl fell to the ground and buried her face in her hands. Again time seemed to slow and all I could hear were her sobs.

Suddenly, a burst of red lit up the calm clearing. It was fallowed by a huge explosion of sound. I covered my ears and dropped to the ground. The girl bolted up and ran into the hedges. I followed but lost her as soon as I entered the maze. I turned back but the clearing had disapeared behind a wall of roses.

I walked back to the mansion slowly. What had I just seen? Whe I neared the exit, I immediatly smelled smoke. I rushed out and saw the mansion enveloped in a wall of flames. The smoke and ash caused my throat and eyes to burn. I ran toward the mansion. Jack! Bunny! Everyone!

A figure rushed toward me. It was Jack. He was carrying Bunny on his back. Their faces were streaked with soot and blood.

"Run!" he shouted at me. I complied. He was heading to the woods.

"Over here," I called, running for the roses. Whatever we were running from might get lost like I had.

We jumped through the first opening just as another explosion wracked the mansion. I ran with no particular heading, anything to get as far away as we could. After a while the smoke was replaced by the calm gray clouds. We stopped to take a breath.

"Lucia?" I managed to ask after a coughing fit.

"I don't know," Jack choked out. "They were in the room that took most of the damage. It might have been enough to fully bring them into Erebus. After that, I don't know. Stars have different rules from us."

He bent over Bunny who was lying, gasping, on the ground. Her cheeks were practically black with sweat and soot. Jack wiped some off but she pushed his hand away.

"What a strange girl you are," Jack said. His eyes never moved from her. It kind of reminded me of the people I saw earlier.

"Will she be okay?" I asked.

"Ya, she can't really die from it," Jack said, smiling. "She would feel better faster if she lets me wipe away the soot, but she like the color so..."

I had to laugh at that. Soon all three of us were laughing and coughing our lungs out.

"Where to now?" I said, standing up and brushing the ash and dirt from my clothes.

"Wherever, we have to look for the gate that leads out of Erebus," Jack picked up Bunny once again and we trudged on.

"Before we do that though, how the hell do we get out of here?" Jack shouted at me.

"No clue," I said and continued walking.


	4. To The Library

After a few hours of wandering through the rose maze, we finally made it out. I felt exhausted and filthy. Jack and Bunny didn't look to comfortable either. Four columns stood in front of us. On each was a carving of some old guy carrying a heap of books or scrolls. A broken roof connected them. Two dragons were carved on it. They seemed to be fighting over a particularly big book.

"Hey, we made it to the library," Jack said.

"Library?" I stared at him. Why the hell would there be a library in the place where dead people went to?

"Ya. It has a history of Erebus and records of all of the dead people and where they went. They might also have diaries written by people here."

"Oh. Where do they get the paper to write on, and the ink?" I was truly amazed.

"Why would you need paper. All you gotta do is pull out your thoughts," Jack started walking toward the columns.

"Hey, why are we going there. Shouldn't we be looking for the exit of this place?" I asked running after him.

"We might be able to find a diary written by Falco Buchanan. He is the only guy who is known to have escaped Erebus."

"Falco," I said to myself. Was that the guy I had seen in the gazebo? It didn't look like he had made it.

The library was the strangest place I had been in so far. First of all, it was underground. Secondly, there were no books or scrolls or anything else that was readable. Instead, lining the shelves, were little vials. They were filled with a fluid that looked like liquid silver. Thirdly, it was empty. I mean, no librarians, staff, or people anywhere in sight.

"Where is everyone?" I asked.

"Maybe Erasibeth is holding a meeting or something. Everyone who isn't dead attends," Jack said. "Better for us. I don't have a library card."

"What?" I stammered. All he did was grin.

"Alright. We'll split up. Look for Buchanan or the Diary section. Lets go"

Before I could protest, I was all alone among the strange vials. I walked along the corridors. Some of the labels seemed downright stupid while others were too complex to understand. The labels were sometimes even in a different language.

"Where are the god damn diaries?" I muttered to myself. Suddenly the corridor swerved and started compacting.

"I didn't mean to offend," I shouted. I don't know why I thought the wall would understand but if Erebus had taught me anything, it was that nothing made sense.

The walls stopped contracting and returned to their original positions. On the side of one of the shelves read _Diaries and Records of the Dead_. I walked in. The liquids were now black or a neon blue.

"Buchanan, Buchanan, Bucha- There!" I came up to an extremely bright neon blue vial. There were about ten vials with the name Buchanan written on them.

"Good job," Jack's voice shouted from behind me.

"Dammit man, don't do that," I gasped. My heart was racing and I felt like I was about to faint.

"Sorry. Bunny, take all those and make sure not to break them, kay?"

Bunny nodded and grabbed all of the vials. She started shoving them into her little dress pockets. I had no idea how she fit all ten of them in there but she did.

As she was putting the last vial in, I heard a door open. Apparently Jack heard it too because he grabbed Bunny and me and bolted. The door was open and the shadow of a small figure stood by the small desk next to it. The thing looked like a white bird. It had a sharp beak and a round head. It had no eyes that I could see but a huge hat covered most of it's face. The hat Looked like the ones the pilgrims wore in the pictures I saw in my textbooks. It was wearing a black cloak that flowed down to the floor.

Jack ran past it but I caught hold of my leg. It's hand was as white as it's head. Talons cut into my skin and I screamed out in pain. Jack stopped abruptly sending me, Bunny, and the bird-thing flying. It lost its grip on my leg when we hit the ground. I crawled away as fast as my bleeding leg allowed.

"Run Lynx!" Jack screamed throwing himself at the creature. "It's a harpy, get Bunny out of here!"

The harpy lifted its arms. The cloak turned into two jet black wings. Each feather glinted like a sharp knife. Jack screamed in pain as they sliced through him. I charged at the harpy. It was caught off guard so I was able to land a few punches before it threw me to the ground. Searing pain ran up my body, now covered in scratches.

"Run Bunny," I called. She just stared at the harpy.

It started walking in her direction. Jack pulled out a large revolver from his pocket. The shot rang in my head. The harpy's right shoulder had a huge hole in it. With a sickening shredding sound, it tore off and fell to the ground. The harpy shrieked nut I never saw its mouth open. Even with the wound, it still kept walking toward Bunny. I tried to run at it but my legs were too cut up to move.

It was only a few yards away when Bunny started rummaging through her dress pockets. She pulled out a huge handgun with at least six barrels. It was almost as big as she was, yet somehow Bunny was able to lift it and pull the trigger. A multitude of gunshots rang out and six blazing trails of light hit the harpy full on. It gave one last wail and fell into a heap.

"Awesome job Bunny!" Jack stumbled over to her and gave her a big hug.

"I'm out of bullets," she said in her small voice.

"That's alright, we'll find some more. Come on Lynx. Your wounds must have healed by now," Jack picked Bunny up and started walking.

I stretched out my legs and saw that most of the bleeding and pain was gone. I jumped up and ran after him.

"We'll head to the floating lakes. There aren't many Sentinels or harpies there. There's gotta be a way outta here and that vial's gonna tell us how," Jack shouted back at me. We sped past the columns that led down to the library and into the forest. As I looked overhead the stars lit up a dark blue night sky.


	5. The Floating Lakes

**A/N: Sorry for the mix up but I got a better idea for the story. Sorry again and please review.**

The floating lakes were exactly what the name suggested. They were massive bodies of water that hung in the air with no support whatsoever. Huge waterfalls cascaded down from their rims causing the whole land to be full of rainbows. The bright sunlight overhead made them glisten with dazzling light that almost blinded me. For all of the dangers in it, Erebus could be beautiful.

"Bunny, do you have the ladder?" Jack asked. We had stopped by one of the waterfalls so he had to shout in order to be heard.

Bunny nodded and pulled a large roll of rope from one of her many pockets. Jack took one end and threw it straight into the sky. I was about to say that it would never reach the top of the lake but the rope never fell back to the ground. On the contrary, it continued up at an amazing speed. Once it reached the top, it twisted into a knot around one of the boulders on the rim of the water. Jack caught hold of the end and started pulling. The rope ripped and divided until it became a ladder.

"Everyone up," Jack shouted with a grin.

He went first, Bunny followed, and I scrambled up at the end. The way up was a pain. The water spraying from the waterfall made the rope slippery and it was a long way down. I was amazed at how fast Bunny and Jack were climbing. Soon I was far behind them and, to make matters worse, Jack kept yelling at me to keep up every five minutes. It was downright arduous.

After what seemed like hours, I finally hefted myself over the edge and onto the shore of the lake. The shimmering water was soothing but the reflection of the sun blinded me. I squinted around and saw that the others were already halfway to the other shore. I stumbled up and ran toward them.

"Nice to see you again. We missed you all these months, it was rather lonely. Why, if I didn't have Bunny here, I might've gone completely mad," Jack joked when I caught up.

"Can't we take a break?" I panted.

"Ya. We're here anyway," Jack walked over to the edge and placed his hand on the water. One giant ripple swam across the lake but no others followed.

"What are you going to do?" I leaned forward to look.

"I'm making sure that the water is pure. Only pure water only ripples once," Jack said. "Bunny, give me the lightest vial please."

Bunny rummaged through her pockets and pulled out a vial filled with such a light blue it looked almost transparent. Jack gently took it in his hands and uncorked it. The liquid slowly drained out of the vial and into the water. All of us leaned in to get a better look. For a while nothing happened, but then a blurry image started to appear. I thought it was a mirage at first, though as time passed it felt as if I was being sucked in. Wait! I was being sucked in!

* * *

Heat scorched my skin and ashes burned my eyes. Flames rose all around me and smoke clouded the sky. I could see nothing and feel only my skin burning away. I fell to the ground and started crawling. In what direction, I was not certain. My hand struck something. I squinted up and saw two blind eyes staring at me. I recoiled at the sight of the dead body in front of me. Dead? In Erebus? That was not possible, was it?

Two hands grabbed it and started dragging it away. I was able to grab a hold of it's foot as the rest of the body disappeared in the smoke. My whole body felt limp as I continued to cling to the dead limb. Even with all of the heat and flames it still felt cold underneath my fingers. I felt the body stop moving. Everything was still and silent.

"Falco! Wake Up! Please!" a woman's voice broke the silence. She screamed in frustration and agony when the limp figure didn't respond. I dragged myself up and walked over to the voice. I practically ran into her. I stared. Violet eyes, long black hair, the same tragic look. It was the girl that shot me back at the town and the girl who was in the gazebo surrounded by the rose maze. I moved toward her but was careful not to touch.

"Falco, please. I need you," she cried falling to her knees. "You can't die again. Please no. YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME AGAIN!"

"He can be saved," a voice rang out.

"A fair trade," another voice whispered.

"Give us your soul for his," the first shouted, seemingly closer than before.

"A fair trade," the second voice repeated, it too growing close.

"He wanted to escape. Can it be done?" the girl, Lucs I remembered, said. It sounded more like pleading than a question.

"Yes. But... you need to give something in return," a figure materialized out of the ashes.

"A soul for a soul, likewise a body for a body," another figure dropped from the sky.

"I'll do anything, just grant him that," Lucs stood up and faced the two shapes.

"Very well. What is your name?" the first figure was now fully visible. She had crimson hair and equally firey eyes. She wore a thin, black silk dress that flowed down to cover her feet. Out of her back protruded two large bat wings. Each of the ligaments were a dark red while the skin was a pitch black.

"Mira though I prefer to be known as Lucs."

"Welcome, Sentinel Mirage, Number Sixteen in the Order," a man stepped out of the shadows, the second figure. He had silver hair that reached a little above his shoulders. His eyes were a peircing golden color that seemed to swirl around as he approached. Two large, feathered wings appeared from behind him. They were so white that it seemed as though they produced their own light.

The woman smiled and strode to where Lucs, now Mirage, was standing. "I am Erasibeth, ruler of the Underworld," as she said this, Erasibeth laid her hands on Mirage's cheeks.

The man likewise stepped up. "I am Selenius, lord of the Overworld," he moved in behind Mirage and place his hands on her temple.

As one, Erasibeth and Selenius moved their hands down across Mirage's body. As they moved, the skin under their hands started to darken and wither away. Mirage's eyes grew wide and frightened. Soon, her whole body was a mass of black smoke that seemed to be held together by some invisible covers. Her hair completely fell off and her eyes were covered by the smokey substance.

Mirage tried to speak but her mouth had turned into a dark hole that led to nothing. "Don't worry. With every capture you will regain your body. Now to the matter of your brother," Erasibeth strode over to the body.

"To die twice is very rare indeed," Selenius mused. Once again they ran their hands over the skin, except this time a white fog cloaked the body. Slowly it sank into the ground and out of Erebus. I could feel it's departure. It was as if a hole had appeared in the world.

"Now, we have an assignment for you," Erasibeth and Selenius said as they turned back to Mirage.

* * *

Everything blurred again and they disappeared from view. What had been dark was now eluminated so drastically that I had to cover my eyes. I was back at the lakeside. Next to me were Jack and Bunny. They too seemed to be waking up from the vision.

"Bunny, I don't think the rest of the vials are from Falco," Jack stammered.

"What do you mean. I thought they were our ticket out of here," I said.

"They are, well, that one was. I think the rest of the vials are her's, ya know, Mirage."

I was beginning to understand the principles of escaping. First, we had to die in Erebus. Second, someone had to give up their lives and bodies for ours. And third, they had to become a Sentinel. Damn, this was going to be harder than it was in theory.


	6. The Castle of Hearts

"So where to now," I asked. We had just descended from one of the floating lakes. Jack had just started setting a brisk pace toward the mountains to the West. They loomed ahead like great shadows waiting to engulf all that came near, and they made me uneasy.

"The Castle of Hearts. Home of the Queen of Hearts," he called back.

"You mean... like Alice in Wonderland?" I felt stupid for asking, but it wasn't a common title.

"Not like that. The Queen of Hearts takes care of the bodies when the souls go through whichever gate they go through," Jack looked back and rolled his eyes at me for emphasis.

"Oh," I couldn't think of anything else to say. Still it was hard to shake the image of a castle with heart spires and heart doors and red walls. I just hoped that this queen wasn't as keen to behead people like the one in the book.

"You still don't get it do you," he looked at me disapprovingly.

"You now I'm a little thick about this stuff," I replied in defense.

"The vial stated clearly that we need our bodies back before we can run away."

"I thought that Erasibeth or Selenius had to give them to us."

"They can, but I don't think we can sacrifice anyone right now. So, I plan to steal our bodies back and not have to give anything," Jack turned and continued.

* * *

"Here we are," Jack's voice startled me out of my day-dreaming. What I saw before me was definitely not something that I would have expected.

True, the walls were a ruby color, but there were no heart spires of any kind. There was a wide moat surrounding the castle on all sides though, instead of water, it was filled with a gray liquid that sloshed around sluggishly. As it moved, large spikes shot out of the liquid. They shown in the sunlight with a malevolent glint. Only a small plank led up to the large iron gate on the other side. There, on every one of the bars, a human heart was speared as if it were a decoration. The strong smell hit my nose and I almost fell over in disgust.

The castle itself was made of stone. The spires reaching for the sky were straight and circular. There were holes in the walls for archers, some armor was lying around along the wall, and it all seemed more military based than a home for royalty. Four large arches connected the four main towers to the outer wall, each painted the same blood red. Balconies lined these towers and were connected by stairs that wound along their sides. It was all so breathtaking, and yet frightening. From all of the windows hung banners of a white rose painted crimson by the blood poured from a heart that hung above it. This wasn't the kind of heart you saw on Valentine's or in girls' notebooks. This was a true heart, like the ones you found in anatomy books.

Jack and Bunny had already started walking across the plank. I followed with caution. More than once I had to crawl on all fours in order to avoid falling onto the spikes that protruded under me. It seemed like forever before we finally made it to the other side. At last we made it to the gate, though that gave me even less comfort. There was only about a foot separating me and the edge. The stink was also much stronger here.

"We have come to seek an audience with her majesty, Queen Vivian," Jack shouted at the top of his lungs. The rusty gate started to tremble and then rose slowly. As soon as it was high enough to go through, I bolted to the other side. Catching my breath I lifted my head to get a better view of the interior of the castle.

The interior was very different from outside. The pathways were made of cobblestones that had a tan color and the whole courtyard was a bright, welcoming scarlet mixed with refreshing green. All around were rose bushes and apple trees, every fruit and flower a shade of red. Some servants in the courtyard were hurriedly dumping buckets of red paint onto some white rose bushes. As soon as the liquid touched the flower, it's color changed to a dark red. Something seemed oddly familiar about that.

"We need an escort to the Queen," said Jack as we walked over to them.

"Not now, can't you see we're busy?" one yelled back at us. "This blood isn't going to stay fresh and Erasibeth is coming here today."

"Today as in within 24 hours or as in at this time?" Jack questioned.

"In 24 hours at this time of course," a second one replied. "What's the difference. Don't you see the shadows moving boy? Time is moving to fast here. Something is upsetting the balance."

I glanced up at the sky. What had been early afternoon had now become sunset. But how? Time here didn't move. How could the sun be in different positions?

I was about to ask when all three servants jumped behind the bush they were painting and fully disappeared. I tilted my head to get a better look but only saw three glass orbs. They glowed a faint vermilion.

"You must excuse the servants," said a voice behind me. "They always faint when they are stressed."

I turned around to see a young woman standing beside one of the apple trees. She wore a scarlet dress that looked like one of those worn by Victorian nobility. The top was covered by a black corset that outlined her figure while the bottom poofed out and had ebony hearts sown into it. As for her, she moved with a grace that was beyond the ability of anyone I had ever seen. Her hair was a dark purple, almost black color. Her eyes were a chocolaty brown and were kind yet sharp as a blade.

"Your majesty," Jack said taking a low bow. I followed suit but was nowhere as close to how Jack did it. Vivian just smiled.

"What is it you seek in this land outlaw?" she asked. Her voice was like silk, soft and smooth. It was feminine yet not high pitched and whiny like some of the girls I had known in my previous life.

"We wish nothing but to attend the ball you are hosting tonight, highness," Jack came out of the bow and handed her an invitation. Bunny must have given one to him before we had gotten there.

"Hmm. Alright, I guess I owe it to you after all. Back when I was alive my favorite time of day was sunset but I never saw it here until know. I'm also assuming that is because of you?" she said the last part as though it were a question.

"Yes, we are attempting to escape," Jack's ears flattened against his head. I noticed that it only happened when he was angry or scared. I was betting that he felt the second one right now.

"Very well, you three," she said turning to the three servants that had reappeared from behind the hedge. "Take them to the mirror room and then finish with those damned roses. So slow."

With that she nodded and left us with the servants. "This way sirs and lady," they said. We walked out of the gardens and into the castle itself.

The servants led us through all sorts of different corridors and rooms. Some had low ceilings, so low that we had to stoop down so that our heads wouldn't hit it. Others were so large that I couldn't even see the other walls or ceiling. They were furnished with a large variety of exotic things. Beds, sofas, large swings that hung from unseen heights. Still, the one thing that stayed the same was their color, red. Of course they had different shades but overall there was nothing other then red. Sometimes you could spot some black or white, but not often.

After a while, we reached on of the balconies and started trecking up one of the outer flights of stairs. I clung to the wall as we climbed ever higher. There wasn't even a balaster between me and the frightening drop. Everyone else seemed oblivious to this fact so I kept quiet and silently prayed that I wouldn't slip.

Finally we turned onto one of the balconies and into one of the rooms. It was furnished with at least ten sofas and one huge four poster bed in the corner. All of the sheets, curtains, bed sheets, etc. were red and embroidered with hearts.

"Alright, down the stairs we go," one of the servants shouted from the doorway.

"What the hell. Didn't we just walk up, like, three hundred flights of stairs?" I said in exasperation.

"Well, you need to go up and then down to end up where you started right," the second one stated.

"Why not just stay where you began in the first place?" I was getting confused. This was strange.

"Well, if we stayed in the same place we wouldn't be escorting you now would we?" the third one finished. All three started down the stairs in a huff.

* * *

After another long period of walking down stairs we finally reached the ballroom where we had first started our trek through the castle. I was still fuming about that. It was decorated with black and red drapes. On each black drape, patterns of hearts and diamonds were imprinted. The red ones were adorned with spades and clovers.

"Really?" I asked as sarcastically as I could.

"Ya. The Queen has a sense of humor and plays the part. A little too well sometimes," Jack said with a smile.

Heaps of food were stacked on four tables that were on all sides of the room. I had never seen some of them, though maybe that was due to the fact that, they too, had been colored a scarlet or ebony. I started toward them but Bunny grabbed my hand and gave me a disaproving gaze. It seemed I was getting a lot of those.

"Not yet, we have to wait for the event," Jack said.

"I hope you won't be wearing that," Vivian's voice came from behind us.

"We have nothing else," Jack said sheepishly.

"Well. That won't do," she snapped her fingers and I was suddenly cloathed in a tuxedo. The coat was red with a black tie and the pants were also black. Jack had the same outfit and Bunny had a dress similar to the one she was wearing, but in the same two colors.

"Much better. Now, choose your spot for the guests will soon be coming," Vivian turned and practically floated out of the room.

Jack turned to me with a smile. "Well, this should be fun. The party will be distracting enough for us to slip in and out."


	7. The Sentinels

The masquerade ball had begun. I had found a black mask laced in gold by a coat hanger and had quickly hid myself behind it. Jack and Bunny had likewise scrounged something up and we were doing our best to blend with the growing crowd. Every creature, human appearing or not, was dressed like royalty. The women wore large furly dresses and waterfalls of jewelry while the men wore tuxedos with ever so intricate designs.

"Stop daydreaming and lets go," Jack whispered in my ear causing me to jump in surprise.

"Sorry," I grumbled and quickened my pace. The ballroom seemed to have stretched itself out and we were heading toward the far side while dodging the queen and her staff. It was proving to be a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. "Oof."

I had been staring at Bunny's back and hadn't noticed that I was walking right into one of the guests. We fell in a heap of arms, legs, and velvet ribbons. I quickly pushed myself and started to apologise when I realized that my mask was lying broken on the floor next to the face of the woman who had shot me the first day that I had arrived. Her black hair covered her face but I could feel her eye watching me, recognizing me. She was up before I could even run; her hands grabbed my neck and smashed me into the marble floor causing me to see stars. I tried to scream but my windpipe was preoccupied with trying to breathe. Her hand clenched further and I felt myself being lifted into the air. All the while I felt her eyes and everyone else's bore into me.

My eyes closed as I awaited the pain of... well of whatever she was going to do to me. Seconds past, minutes? Suddenly I felt the air rush into my lungs only to be whisked away when I fell to the floor. I opened my eyes into slits and saw Jack wrestling with the girl. In other circumstances he would have been no match for her but the dress was seriously in the way. Bunny leaned into my line of vision and pulled me to my feet. I stumbled after her, camoflauged in the circle of people gathering to witness the fight.

"Is Jack going to be okay?" I whispered when we had fallen into the shadows of a column and Jack was nowhere to be found.

"He will run the moment we exit the room," she replied.

"Lets get out of here then," I ran out of the column and right into the growling face of a giant, black wolf.

"Get them Gluttony," a voice rang out from behind.

The wolf lunged at me. It's claws raked my arms but for some reason the teeth never reached me. A whine split the air as the wolf lost his balance and slid into the column where we had been hiding moments before. Bunny hopped out from behind it and started running toward the door to the right of us. I pushed the frightened royals out of the way as the wolf behind us regained its footing. People screamed, the wolf roared, far away I heard laughter though who's it was, I didn't know.

We reached the door. I pulled the handle, felt the door budge, then catch, then stop. It was locked. I turned and saw the wild beast catch up to us, saw it jump in the air, and saw it close its teeth a few inches in front of my chest. Blood splattered onto my face as my eyes stared in horror at the small figure hanging from its jaws. "Bunny."

"Did you get them Gluttony?" a small girl walked up beside the wolf. Her eyes were glowing red coals and her smile flashed as she stared at the bloody mess in the teeth of that monster.

"Lust, we said capture," a woman slid out of the crowd to stand next to the small girl. Her amber hair gleamed around the green mask that she wore. No eyes showed in the holes but two small lights shown in the void.

"Shuttup Envy, I want some fun with Gluttony," the little girl squeaked.

"Be polite," a man stepped out from behind them and wrapped him arms around Envy.

"Greed, glad you made it," she mocked.

"Oh, how sweet. You really are digusting," a large bulk of a man stepped out to join them followed by the girl from before.

"Pride, Wrath, nice of you to join us," the others said.

"The other one escaped but two will definitely be enough to correct the balance for the time being," she whispered.

"Noooo!" I shouted. Unaware of what I was doing I grabbed the sharpest object on the table next to me and plunged it into her chest. I jumped over her falling body and ran toward the next door over. My luck held as I yanked the door open and ran up a flight of stairs. Behind me I heard clawing at the door and knew that I had only seconds to run and hide.

"Come with me," Jack popped out of the shadows and grabbed a handfull of my shirt. "What about Bunny?"

"She... she," I couldn't bare to say it.

"Alright, we have to continue. For her. Let's go."


	8. Seven

**A/N: This is going to be the last chapter of Erebus since it is a manga based story I don't want it to be too long. I'll start writing the sequel soon so please review!**

Jack and I ran like the wind though it seemed that we could never shake the ever gaining footsteps, or better said paw steps, behind us. Again we went through strange rooms and up winding staircases. I was amazed that I didn't have to catch my breath and wondered if my soul had a sense of adrenaline. As we went further into the castle I noticed that the elegant candelabras transformed into crude torches and the bright red walls converted to an ashy sort of plaster before being fully stripped and revealing the cold stones underneath. Our shoes made almost no sounds and yet I could almost feel the wolf twitching its ears to pick us up. Fear jolted me back to life as Jack pulled me around a sharp corner. _For Bunny,_ he had said. Yes, we would keep going for Bunny's sake.

"Jack," I huffed out. "Will they make her one of them?"

"They might since their missing Sloth," Jack growled. "Now shuddup and run."

* * *

Sharp twists and turns finally brought us to what looked like a large, indoor pool. Inside I could see faces peering from beneath the water. Behind me I heard the door slam shut and for a moment I felt that I would rather face those psychotic murders than to stay in here. Backing away I tried to find Jack. He had walked over to edge of the water and was dipping his feet in! I gazed in amazement as hundreds of thin silver strands started wrapping themselves around him. I cried for him to get back and ran over to try to pull him away but when I got near hundreds of other strands wrapped themselves around me.

Slowly they tightened around my limbs until they were actually cutting through my skin. For some reason the blood looked different this time, it was darker and much thicker than before. It was as though the blood I had bled before was just smoke compared to this. I laughed like a maniac as the crimson rivulets covered my lashes and dripped from my jaw. My vision turned red and blurred as I felt new muscles flex and a heart start beating with a strength that I had never felt before.

At some point I felt the strings recede and let me go. The cuts healed and my head fell back and hit the floor. The cold marble relaxed me and I turned to find Jack lying fast asleep beside me. He looked so real, so whole. His ears had disappeared but there was a faint haze where they used to be. My hand fell back to the floor feeling heavier than before. Even my eyelids felt as though they weighed tons and I felt my vision going from red to black. Right before I sunk into unconsciousness I felt my soul connecting to my body. For that moment, and only that moment I knew what every fiber of my being felt like. I felt every cell, every organ working, every breath I took. And for that moment, I felt truly happy.

* * *

"Are you ever going to wake up?" a voice protruded through the blissful darkness. I tried to shove it away but my hands passed through air. "Oh so your trying to shoo me away now are you?"

"Leave me alone," I grumbled and turned my head. I wanted to sink back into the bliss that I had experienced. Why did I have to wake up?

"Wake up or I'll kill the other boy. Now that he is in his body it will be much easier to just drag his soul into hell along with the other child."

My eyes opened and my forehead collided with something hard as I jolted upright. Past the stars dancing around my forehead I saw Wrath clutching her head with one hand and holding a black dagger to Jack's throat with the other. Horror gripped me as I looked around to find that the other five sentinels were gathered around me as well. A bead of blood trickled down Jack's throat as he started to wake. His eyelids fluttered and opened. A small moan escaped his lips making the gash in his neck bigger.

"Don't move if you value your soul," Wrath hissed in his ear. I saw his amber eyes stare into mine with a look of sheer terror.

I winced at my helplessness. How could I save him when I was so worthless? I couldn't. But wait! Maybe I could. What had it been? A soul for a soul, a body for a body.

"Take mine!" I yelled

Everyone's attention turned to me. Wrath smirked, "Take your what?"

"Take my soul for his," I stuttered. We had been so close. Maybe with that at least one of us would be free.

"Your soul?" Wrath whispered.

Something lit up her eyes and she threw the dagger at me. The black blade buried itself deep in my chest and a scream escaped my lips. The blade was so cold that it burned, or was it the other way around? I felt a thousand flames engulf my body as my soul was slowly turned to ash. Something dark was appearing before my eyes. Two black holes appeared in the red flashes that covered my eyes. Then two white hands reached out and cupped my face before starting to pull me into the inferno.

"Enough!" a voice so far away yet so powerful shook the flames. The creature that held me hissed and snapped two monstrous jaws at its challenger. A thousand silver arrows whizzed by my ear and pierced the monster's hide. With another hiss it let go of me and returned to the flames. My eyes snapped open to find Wrath screaming and clutching her ears.

Two new figures stood behind the rest of the Sentinels. They were the people I had seen in Wrath's memories, Erasibeth and Selenius. Selenius was dressed in a black tuxedo that made him look like a butler. It was the last thing I would have expected of a god of death. Erasibeth looked more the part. Her long crimson hair fell over a dark red dress that fell to the floor. She wore a large red hat covered in plumage of every shade of purple. Rubies and diamonds covered the both of them and their skin seemed to shine along with them. Erasibeth walked to stand by Wrath and placed her hand on the girl's fragile shoulder. Her screams subsided and she fell in a heap on the floor.

"You should be more gentle with our servants, Sel," she looked over at the man. I noticed that he wore a cuff with a small bow and arrow pendant in the middle.

"The boy has a good soul. Strong, he's better to us as a Sentinel," the man's expression stayed unchanged but his tone was one of annoyance. "Let the boy give his soul away for his friends."

"Wait," I stammered. "You mean my soul is worth both of theirs'?"

"If not more," Erasibeth said running her tongue over her ruby lips. "Your soul is worth almost as much as Wrath's here."

"How much is that?"

"Five," the others gasped and Wrath growled at me from the wall that she was leaning on.

"I just want Bunny and Jack to go free," I stated. "Then you can have me."

"Are you sure?" Selenius stepped forward. "This is your chance to go back to Earth. You may not be able to get another chance to do that for a long time."

"I can spare it," I said blandly. In truth I burned to just take the chance and run but I knew that I would never forgive myself if I did.

"Let's begin then," he stood over me and pushed me to the floor.

Erasibeth glided over to join him as they ran their hands over my body. I felt that a little of my skin was removed with every pass. In a matter of seconds I knew that only my soul was left. I thought they would stop but they kept at it until I felt that my existence was only hanging by a string. If that string broke I knew that I would be lost in the dark for eternity. I stayed completely still but panic was starting to grip at me. Something was emerging from the darkness. Instead of fire this time it was water. I felt as though I was being drowned, my breathes became ragged as my string started to snap.

From the depths of the icy liquid I saw a webbed hand stretched toward me. A claw spiked each finger as they pushed their way toward me. The water dragon was white with a blue spine that stretched from behind its two massive horns to the tip of its tail. The teeth were sharp as knives and shown with a greenish light. It swam around me in a circle before finally snapping at the tread that held me together. Another pass, another snap. I knew that it would break soon.

"What do you want?" I screamed at it. All it did was grin with its broad array of teeth and keep snapping.

I cried out for help but the water filled my throat and I was gagged. thrusting with my arms and legs I tried to moved the tread out of the serpent's reach without breaking it. Unfortunately all that did was make it weaker. The dragon saw its opportunity and dove. The string snapped and I fell into the waiting jaws.

* * *

My head emerged from the pool of bodies. I would have gasped but my mouth wouldn't open. Everything was in black shadows as if a black veil had been thrown over the world. The only light I could see clearly was two white flames on my right. I reached toward them but was held back.

"You can't have them," something hissed in my head. "Their souls were saved by you. You must control us. There will be plenty more."

In that moment I knew, I understood the darkness and the light. I was a Sentinel and I was hungry for souls. Something pulled me out of the water. I gazed into the faces of my former enemies.

"Welcome to the ranks. You will be known as Sloth from now on. With every escaped soul that you bring us, the dragon will release a part of your own. Your partner shall be Wrath. Good Hunting."


End file.
